Sky Sports announces major changes to Premier League coverage ahead of new season

The Premier League is almost here and Sky Sports has announced some major changes to its coverage. The 2025/26 season gets underway on Friday (August 15), with Liverpool kicking off their title defence with a home game against Bournemouth.

Also slated for the opening weekend are Wolves vs Man City, Chelsea vs Crystal Palace and Man United vs Arsenal. Ahead of the new campaign, Sky confirmed it will broadcast a 'record breaking' number of live games as its coverage increases from 128 to at least 215 live games.

Sky says this represents 80% of all televised Premier League matches and includes every displaced 2pm Sunday kick-off, said to be 'a first for any UK broadcaster'. To tune into all these fixtures - alongside more than 1,000 live games across the EFL, SPFL, WSL and Bundesliga - football fans will need a Sky Sports subscription, which costs £20 per month for new customers, equal to roughly 66p per day.

To sweeten the deal, Sky has confirmed it will be the home of every final-day Premier League fixture, alongside the most festive fixtures of the season, including the return of Boxing Day action to Sky. There's also several new additions to the Sky Sports schedule, including 'Supersized Super Sundays', where up to four matches will be shown live and simultaneously on weekends following midweek European fixtures.

Sky is also launching a new 'Multiview' programme, providing dynamic live coverage from all games at once, with dedicated commentary and analysis on Sky TV and the Sky Sports app. Leading Sky Sports' coverage is Match of the Day's Mark Chapman, who joins the existing Premier League presenting line-up of David Jones and Kelly Cates.

They will feature alongside Sky's pundit team, with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Daniel Sturridge, Izzy Christiansen, Micah Richards and Jamie Redknapp offering insight and opinions throughout the season. Former Liverpool defender Carragher will also host Sky's 'Extra Time' analysis and reaction show, taking fans on a deep dive of key moments of the games on major Sundays with multiple fixtures.

Of the changes, Chief Sports Officer for Sky, Jonathan Licht, said: "This is a landmark season for Sky Sports and the Premier League. For the first time, we'll bring fans over 215 live matches, including every 2pm kick-off on Super Sunday.

"We're introducing new innovations like Multiview, new programmes like Super Sunday: Extra Time, and a new look schedule for Sky Sports News. From the moment the season kicks off, we'll be helping fans stay across all the biggest stories and making sure they never miss a moment of the action."

Sky's Premier League coverage is available with a Sky Sports subscription, while customers without an existing Sky package can opt for the flagship Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle at £35 per month. But this isn't the only way to enjoy the new season, as Virgin Media also provides Sky Sports access with its own TV packages.

Virgin is in the middle of its rival Summer of Sports sale, which has seen price cuts across its own Sky Sports packages until September 2. These start with the Bigger Combo bundle + Sports, which comes with more than 200 TV channels - including eight from Sky Sports - and 516Mbps fibre broadband, all of which has been reduced from £65.99 to £54.99 - a £264 saving.

However, a downside to both Sky and Virgin's plans is that customers face at least two bill increases in their 24-month term, as each provider is set to raise their prices every April. This year, Sky implemented a 6.2% increase to its TV customers, but is yet to confirm next year's chance.

Virgin has already confirmed its Bigger Combo bundle + Sports will rise to £58.49 from April 2026 and £61.99 from April 2027. What sets Sky apart from its rivals is the opportunity to cancel a contract after a price rise is announced, not something offered by Virgin.

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